What a difference a month makes. Go back four short weeks from now, and you would have found a Williams College volleyball team that was desperate to find its identity. Coming off a season where the Ephs won a NESCAC championship and only lost one senior, hopes were understandably high.
These hopes, however, did not translate into success on the court early on, as the Ephs were forced to shuffle their lineup to account for many injuries to key players. As a result, the Ephs could not create any consistent momentum and sat at 16-12 on the second day of the Hall of Fame tournament.
No one could have predicted what would have happened next. With their backs to the walls the Ephs refused to fall, but rather went on one of the most of the most timely winning streaks in recent memory.
With victories over Smith and Brandeis in the final day of the Hall of Fame tournament, the Ephs began a twelve match-winning streak that featured wins over Tufts and Amherst, as well as the NESCAC tournament championship.
If that were not enough, the Ephs saved their best volleyball for the NCAA tournament, as the first two rounds featured 3-0 victories over Keene State and top seeded Springfield. Against Wellesley, the Ephs were pushed to the limit in the first three sets, but eventually took the the thrilling match.
With the 3-1 win over Wellesley, the Williams College volleyball team (28-12) took home the New England regional championship and a trip to the NCAA Elite 8, which will be hosted by Illinois-Wesleyan, November 20-22.
Joining the Ephs will be Juniata, New Paltz, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, La Verne, Emory, the College of St. Benedict, and Ohio Northern.
The Ephs square off against Ohio Northern (33-4) in the final Eilte 8 match on Thursday at 9:30 PM EST.
The match can be seen via webcast by clicking here.
Ohio Northern received an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament by winning their third consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference tournament championship. The eighth ranked Polar Bears defeated Westminster (Pa.) 3-1, #5 Wittenburg 3-2, and defending national championship #3 Washington (Mo.) 3-1 to advance to the Elite 8.
Ohio Northern head coach Kate Witte is in her 18th year and has amassed a 487-151 record. During her tenure, the Polar Bears have made 16 NCAA tournament appearances and four Elite 8s. This is Ohio Northern's 25th NCAA appearance overall.
The Polar Bears are led by Junior Liz Schnelle (552 kills, .404 hitting percentage), senior Katie Weininger (1337 assists), and first year Kasey Roeser (641 digs). They come into Thursday's NCAA quarterfinal match winners of 26 consecutive matches.
Williams College received an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament by winning their second consecutive NESCAC tournament championship. Seeded fourth in the New England region, the Ephs defeated Keene State 3-0, top seeded Springfield 3-0, and Wellesley 3-1 to advance to the Elite 8.
Eph head coach Fran Vandermeer is in her ninth season at Williams and has amassed a record of 244-72. During her tenure, the Ephs have made six NCAA tournament appearances and four Elite 8s. This is the Ephs ninth tournament appearance overall.
The Ephs are led by AVCA Honorable Mention All-America selections, sophomores Kate Anderson (447 kills) and Nicole Ballon-Landa (420 kills). They also have received big contributions from senior Riki McDermott (280 digs), juniors Chelsea Kubal (487 digs) and Whitney Hitchcock (119 blocks), and sophomore Emily Avis (936 assists). The Ephs come into Thursday's match on a twelve-match winning streak.
The winner of the Williams-Ohio Northern match advances to the Final Four Friday night at 8:00PM EST against either Emory or St. Benedict.
